Chris Boline
Early on this season, the Houston Astros have reminded everyone of how special they can be. Houston, fresh off its World Series-winning campaign in 2022, is looking to make a statement this year. This weekend, the AL West powerhouse has a key series going up against the Minnesota Twins. While Houston is expected to be favored for each matchup, the Twins could pull off an upset win over the Astros on Friday.
This will be the first game of the weekend series and Houston will want to get things going with a bang. What will help the Twins in this one is that the game is being played at Target Field in Minneapolis. The home-field advantage will be huge for the Twins, especially with it coming on a Friday night. This stadium is expected to be packed, as the Minnesota supporters will want to make a difference in this one.
| Twins/Astros odds |  |  |  |  |
| Astros to win | -110 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Twins to win | +145 | +145 | +145 | +145 |
| Over to hit | -110 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Under to hit | -110 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
On top of that, star pitcher Sonny Gray will be taking the bump for the Twins. Gray has been inconsistent throughout his career, but he sure looked sharp during his first start of the campaign. In his season-opener, Gray didn’t give up a single run. Things aren’t going to be easy for him going up against the Astros and their loaded lineup, but he has what it takes to help Minnesota come out on top.
According to the best-rated sportsbooks, which includes the reliable Bovada review, the Astros are the favorites with their -110 MLB betting odds, with the Twins set at +145. On paper, yes, Houston is the better team and they’ve got an incredible lineup. However, we think that a strong performance will be on the way from Gray and Co. Because of this, we’re going with the Twins as our pick to win on Friday night.
Sonny Gray, K'ing the Side with Filth. 😷
And ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/Ms3pkfsqUm
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 26, 2023
The over should hit in the Twins vs. Astros matchup
In this contest, the over should hit in the Twins vs. Astros matchup on Friday night. While we do think that Gray will record a strong showing, Houston will send out starting pitcher Jose Urquidy for this one. Urquidy is a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher, but he’s coming off a terrible performance in his first start of the 2023 campaign. This has Astros fans a bit worried about what might happen on Friday.
In his last start, Urquidy got roughed up, as he gave up seven hits and two earned runs in only four innings of work. That wasn’t the kind of start manager Dusty Baker was hoping to see out of his hurler. Now, Urquidy has a chance to bounce back in a big way against the Twins, but Minnesota also has a strong lineup – they’ll hope to make his life difficult in this one and there’s a good chance that happens. Carlos Correa will be ready for a big game vs. the Twins. The star slugger is looking sharp already.
Joey Gallo hitting nukes. Carlos Correa being a leader in the dugout. The Twins are 3-0 and life is good. pic.twitter.com/ewU0WhcwWT
— Thuuuuney (@thuuuuney) April 2, 2023
“I want to win a championship,” Correa said in a recent interview with Yahoo! Sports. “That’s No. 1. And No. 2, I want to get back to a .900 OPS and seven-WAR season. That’s my individual, personal goals. But at the end of the day, if I’m a better player, I help the team win more games, then eventually that will lead us to the playoffs.”
Per the oddsmakers, the over/under for this game has been set at 6.5 runs. While we do think that Gray will look fantastic in this matchup, we don’t think that the same will come from Urquidy. The over has been set with -110 odds. We’re going with those odds in this case.
The Astros continue to hold the No. 1 World Series betting odds
With the weekend almost here, the Astros continue to hold the No. 1 World Series betting odds, and it has people all over Texas dreaming of this club going back-to-back. Houston is without question one of the best teams in the American League and that’s going to be the case the rest of the season. Right now, though, the New York Yankees appear to be their top rivals in the AL, with the Bronx Bombers looking good.
Aaron Judge is back with the team and Giancarlo Stanton is looking great thus far too. What’s really going to help the Yankees next month is that left-handed pitcher Carlos Rodon will be returning from his injury. In the meantime, Gerrit Cole is manning the rotation and he’s back to his fantastic form. Aaron Boone has high hopes that the Yankees can get back to the Fall Classic in November, but the Astros are hoping to get in their way this season, just like they’ve been able to do in the past.
Houston has stars like Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Yordan Alvarez and more leading their offense. This team is poised to make a giant splash this year, which shouldn’t be a surprise. Baker is one of the top managers out there and his players love suiting up for him. Even if we don’t think the Astros will win on Friday night, there’s no question their World Series betting odds are high for a reason: they’re a spectacular team.
